Landlord busted for overcrowded home in Flanders

Seventeen people were found living together in a cramped two-bedroom house in squalid conditions following a code enforcement bust in Flanders last week, Southampton Town officials said.

Code enforcement and Southampton Town Police descended on the house at 68 Cypress Avenue Friday and found people living among exposed wiring and cockroaches in a home owned by what one town official called “an absentee landlord.” It is not clear if the residents were related to one another.

The basement had been converted into an apartment without proper permits and was missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, according to chief Southampton Town investigator David Betts. Two 100 pound propane tanks were also found in the basement, officials said.

“Extension cords were used as permanent wiring, the electrical panel was missing circuit breakers, and light fixtures hung from their boxes with exposed wiring,” said Southampton Town Board member Chris Nuzzi.

The owners of the property, NY State Realty Associates Inc. of Sound Beach, were charged with 55 code violations including overcrowding and infestation.

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